Body of missing Chelmsford man Timothy Hatcher found in river

Timothy Hatcher was first reported missing from his home in Chelmsford in December

The body of a missing man with dementia has been found about 10 miles from his home in Essex, police have said.

Timothy Hatcher, from Chelmsford, was first reported missing on 20 December.

Essex Police said it ran a "large-scale" investigation that included searching a 4km stretch (2.5 miles) of the River Chelmer.

The force said a member of the public reported a suspicious item in the river, off Cut-a-Thwart Lane near Maldon, at about 17:30 BST on 13 May.

Mr Hatcher, 69, was identified after "extensive" DNA enquiries and a forensic post-mortem examination.

Essex Police released CCTV images of Timothy Hatcher during the search, including at Aldi in Parkway, Chelmsford

"This is terribly sad news but I hope that this confirmation provides some closure to Timothy's loved ones," said Det Supt Scott Egerton.

"This was a complex investigation and search and clearly this is not the result we had been hoping for."

Officers spent 400 hours searching for Mr Thatcher and the Essex Search and Rescue team provided kayaks, sonar technology and an underwater drone.

The teams reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, analysed phone and financial data and carried out house-to-house enquiries.

Mr Hatcher received support from carers multiple times a day.

The force is not treating his death as suspicious and has prepared a file for the coroner.

A 50-year-old man was arrested in January on suspicion of kidnap but was later told he faced no further action.